The Vietnam war was a costly conflict in which 3 million people were killed and more than half of this number consisted of civilians. The effects of this war continue to ripple out as a result of agent orange, a tactical pesticide used during the war to kill the undergrowth of the thickly covered forests in Vietnam. The American forces were having trouble seeing the Vietcong, because they knew how to use the undergrowth in order to hide and launch sneak attacks. The American forces came up with the solution of agent orange so that the playing field would be leveled.
By the end of the war, 20 million gallons of the chemical was dumped over the plants, animals and streams in Vietnam. The ramifications of this was extensive, and many of the consequences reach into our present time. People on both sides of the conflict suffered from long-term consequences such as cancer, birth defects, rashes, and psychological issues. Civilians who were not directly involved in the war were also affected. Studies have found that up to 95% of residents have 200 times the safe level of dioxin in their blood stream today and 150,000 people have been born with defects relating to this chemical. American soldiers that came back after the war continue to struggle with issues related to the chemical. Agent orange destroyed everything that it touched.
After using agent orange the American soldiers realized that the Vietnam soldiers could still hide in the forests because they knew the lay of the land, but the American soldiers could not. Agent orange was meant to work for the soldiers in order to expel the enemy, but in the end it worked against them. In the same way, sin only leads to heartache and suffering. It may seem like a good thing to do in the moment but in the end, consequences work against you. It does not simply affect the person who causes it, but everyone around them. There is no such thing as a harmless sin, and there is no going back after it leaves its mark. In Vietnam, wherever agent orange was used, it would poison the soil and nothing would be able to grow in it again. Some places still cannot grow anything to this day. Sin does the same thing, it stifles the light and stops good things from growing, poisoning your heart. Nothing could save the soil that was affected. The only thing to do would be to replace the soil entirely. In the same way, our dirty and sin ridden hearts must replaced by Jesus.
Sin has immediate and long-term consequences that affect us and the people around us, but those consequences could never equal to what sin does with our relationship with God. Romans 3:23 says that all of us fall short to the glory of God, because of our sin. He is a holy being far above us. He is a holy and perfect being and this does not mean that he is simply a better version of us, it is instead saying that he is completely separate from his creation. 1 John 1:5 says,” This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all” (ESV). Light and darkness cannot coexist, they are two completely separate entities. There cannot be any darkness in light, because light only casts light. In the same way, He is pure and perfect in utter transcendence over his creation and he cannot be defiled with the darkness of our sin.
Isaiah 6 presents a powerful image of the separation and holiness of God, creating a deeper and more comprehensive definition of this word. Isaiah sees God sitting at his throne in a vision, and verse 4-5 says,
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts! (ESV).
Isaiah shows intense fear of the holiness and purity of God, because he is so far above us. He recognizes that we can never measure up to God’s holiness with our actions. The sin that coats the world is muck that the majesty of God cannot touch. God is holy and righteous. This fact is reason enough for Him to strike down our sinful world. He could condemn us for every sin in an instant. This justifies the fear that Isaiah feels in this passage. Later in the passage, a seraphim places a hot coal in Isaiah’s mouth. He is proclaimed to be holy and guiltless before God. This is before anything that Isaiah did to “be good”. Isaiah by himself could never measure up to the holiness of God. Scripture calls our good deeds filthy rags next to the holiness of God. His response to Isaiah’s sin should give us hope, because it shows that God’s ultimate purpose it to cleanse his people and give grace. His holiness is a thing to fear and be in awe of, but Isaiah experiences the depth of God’s grace through which He chooses to release Isaiah from his sin and make him guiltless. In the same way, he chose to draw us near through His son in spite of our sin.